Apart from that, the OnePlus 6 also comes with the latest Oxygen OS 5.1 and packs in plenty of amazing features. But all those features and tricks might be a tad difficult to explore all by yourself and that’s where we come in. We, at Guiding Tech, have scoured the OnePlus 6 with a fine-tooth comb and have come up with the list of the best tips and tricks. Here we go.
1. Hide the Notch
The notch is one of the most polarizing designs in recent times. Since the launch of the iPhone X last year, most of the recent phones have jumped aboard the notch-wagon, including the OnePlus 6. However, if you’re not a fan of this design, the good news is that you can turn the feature off and revert to the standard 18:9 aspect ratio. To hide the notch, navigate to Settings > Display > Notch Display and toggle the switch for ‘Hide the notch area’ off. That’s it! The ugly notch is hidden forever. Well, until you decide that you are beginning to love it. If you ask me, I didn’t particularly like the notch initially, however, with time it grew on me. So, before you hit the Hide button, give it a thought, maybe?
2. Know the Power of Smart Folders
Smart Folders is one of the new features of the OnePlus 6. This feature automatically assigns name to the folders on the home screen according to the apps you’re moving to it. For instance, if you are dropping the Facebook app on top of the Twitter icon (on the home screen), the folder will be automatically named as Social. And likewise for gaming, photography, travel, and so on. A small productivity hack that gets rid of redundant stuff like naming folders. Another cool feature of the OnePlus launcher is Smart Tags. Whenever you’d tap on the search bar of the app drawer, it’d show you all the relevant tags related to your activities. Nifty!
3. Get a Lock on the Face Unlock
The Face Unlock feature on the OnePlus 6 is a convenient method of unlocking the phone, not to mention, it’s super fast. In fact, it’s so quick that even if you just wanted to have a glimpse of the lock screen notifications, it’d send you straight to home screen. Argh! Thankfully, there’s a quick workaround. After unlocking the phone, it’ll land you on the lock screen instead of the home screen. This way you can see the notifications and lock the phone again. Or you can swipe up to go to the home screen. To enable this feature, navigate to Settings > Security & lock screen > Face unlock, and disable the option for ‘Auto unlock after the screen is on’.
4. OTG Security
The OnePlus 6 comes with the option of disabling the USB OTG port when not in use. Given the state of security and privacy these days, it’s a well-thought option, which I’d recommend you switch off at the first available chance. To disable external reading via OTG automatically, head over to the Advanced settings and turn the OTG Storage off.
5. Enable Navigation Gestures
Thanks to the iPhone X, navigation gestures are a rage these days. This cool gesture control process lets you have more screen real estate by hiding the navigation bar. To enable Navigation gestures, head over to Settings > Buttons and tap on Navigation bar & gestures. Once inside, tap on the third option and bid goodbye to the onscreen buttons. This new way to navigate may seem overwhelming initially, especially if this is the first time you’re using gesture-based controls. At least, that was the case with me. However, rest assured that with time you’ll get used to it.
6. Make the Most Out of Gestures
OnePlus phones are no strangers to gestures and over time, the number of such shortcuts have continued to increase. Starting with the OnePlus 5, a new set of customizable actions have made their way to these phones and with the successor, it’s no different. From playing music to launching YouTube Search directly — these gestures let you do them all. To enable them, head over to Gestures in settings and get started with your experiments! My favorite? The Three-finger screenshot it is!
7. Run Two Accounts of the Same App
Dual SIM phone, two accounts, separate business profile — there are multiple reasons as to why we need separate accounts on the same app. Thankfully, the OnePlus 6 lets you run two instances of an app. To do so, go to Settings > Apps > Parallel apps and enable the buttons for the supported apps you wish to run dual accounts on.
8. Lift to See Notifications
Another cool feature of the OnePlus 6 is its ambient display. A cousin of the Always On Display feature, ambient display lets you have a glance of the time and messages when you lift the phone. What I love about Glance is that you don’t have to go through the hassle of unlocking your phone, or for that matter, waking up your phone. Just lift it up a teeny bit and all the information will be right there for you to see. To get a taste of Ambient Display, navigate to Display > Ambient display and enable ‘Lift up display’.
9. Enable Dual VoLTE
Last but not the least, the OnePlus 6 comes with the advantage of dual VoLTE. This means that you’d be able to use both your VoLTE-powered SIM in parallel. All you have to do is open the SIM settings and toggle the VoLTE switch on. That’s about it!
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That’s All, Folks!
So, those are the Oxygen OS features that makes your OnePlus 6 a smarter phone. What I love about the OS is that it lets me enjoy the flavor of Stock Android, yet doesn’t ask me to sacrifice on all the additional features. So, which one of these caught your attention? Is it the ‘hide the notch’ option or the iPhone X-like gestures? I am sure it’s one of the two.
